City plans ordinance change to let deputies more easily fine people who park illegally in disabled spots

Also: Trappers have removed more than a dozen hogs from the Hidden Lakes community.

The way city ordinances and state law currently align, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputy who notes a car without a disabled tag or disabled license plate sitting illegally in a disabled parking spot can’t ticket that car — unless the deputy actually saw the driver park it.

The city of Palm Coast wants to change that.

Parking in a disabled spot is regulated under state law as a moving violation, which means that law enforcement officers have to see a person commit the violation to write a ticket.

But the city can add it, City Attorney Bill Reischmann said at a July 10 City Council workshop, so that deputies who see a car without the proper decal or tag parked in a disabled parking spot can write a civil citation and leave it on the violators’ car like a standard parking ticket.

The ordinance change would also clarify that the city will fine violators the maximum amount allowed under Florida law — $250.

Making the change, Reischmann said, will mean switching out some disabled parking signs at city facilities to warn people of the $250 fine.

City dealing with wild hog problem

Wild hogs have overrun lawns in the Hidden Lakes area and the Woodlands neighborhood, Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon said at a June 10 City Council workshop.

Community members contracted with trappers, and “They’ve already hauled out 14 hogs out of the Hidden Lakes area — probably more than that at this point," Landon said.

The hogs run in packs and rip up yards, he said. “The real solution is just getting rid of the pests.”

The trappers, he said, are removing the hogs at no cost because they make use of the animals after they’re killed.